Infrastructure

Driving

In N.Y.C., Speeding Is Up as Pandemic Continues

Data shows that drivers are speeding on the city’s mostly deserted streets.

April 2, 2020 - StreetsBlog NYC

Purple Line Extension Construction

Low Car Traffic Enables Accelerated Subway Construction in Southern California

The city of Beverly Hills, long an opponent of the project, is now taking advantage of a lack of car traffic to drastically speed up construction on the Purple Line subway extension.

April 2, 2020 - Streetsblog LA

Gold Line alongside 210 Freeway

As Coronavirus Spreads, Air Pollution Plummets

More people are driving less and staying at home. The result is significant improvements in air quality in cities across the country.

April 2, 2020 - The New York Times

Bart

BART San Jose Extension Faces Delays and Ballooning Costs

The extension to downtown is a complex and ambitious project facing many challenges and questions about feasibility.

April 1, 2020 - The Mercury News

Connectivity

The Dots of Connectivity and Broken Cultural Links

Connectivity is not just a question of geometry, according to this article by Fanis Grammenos. It's critical to consider what people connect for and how.

April 1, 2020 - Fanis Grammenos

COVID-19

How Coronavirus Will Change Cities, From Public to Private Lives

Changes are coming, but they don't have to be anti-urban, and they could mean a more resilient world for cities and communities of all shapes and sizes.

April 1, 2020 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research: The Urban Edge

Surveillance Technology

Will Infrastructure Planners Become Responsible for Facial Recognition Systems?

Facial recognition offers both benefits and risks. Planners can have a role in ensuring more of the former than the latter.

April 1, 2020 - Kayla Matthews

Empty Road

The Pandemic Offers a Chance to Rethink the Mobility Priorities of Cities

Cities have an opportunity to make bold changes that would give pedestrians and cyclists the space on streets that they deserve.

March 31, 2020 - The Verge

Port of Los Angeles

COVID-19 Impacts on Essential Goods Movement at the Port of Los Angeles

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka shares the priorities for safeguarding operations at the West Coast’s largest trading port.

March 30, 2020 - The Planning Report

Pop-Up Park

Keys to Safely Reopening Cities After the Pandemic

Cities have survived terrible infectious diseases before, because the power of concentrated human and economic activity is just so strong. When it’s time to reopen U.S. cities, a few key actions will ensure the future safety and health of all.

March 30, 2020 - Brookings

Coronavirus and Lime

How Global Cities Are Coping With the Pandemic

Social distancing is the word controlling most U.S. urban dwellers' thoughts and actions right now, but cities around the world have additional lessons in pandemic response to share.

March 29, 2020 - The City Fix

Baltimore MTA Bus

Baltimore Transit Lagging Behind Other Systems

State-run buses and subway trains in Baltimore have breakdown rates far higher than systems in other cities.

March 29, 2020 - The Baltimore Sun

Coronavirus Social Distancing

More Details for Planners on the Federal Stimulus Package

As the U.S. House of representatives approved the passive stimulus package approved by the U.S. Senate earlier in the week, more details emerged about the parts of the bill that will be relevant to planners during the coming weeks and months.

March 29, 2020 - NPR

San Francisco

Light Rail Service Suspended in San Francisco, South Bay Area

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency announced that it would shift resources away from light rail, starting Monday, and then the Valley Transportation Authority announced it was suspending light rail service in the South Bay immediately.

March 27, 2020 - KRON

New York Subway Stairs

How We Learn Public Transportation and Infrastructure Lessons

"Who do you learn from?" is a question that transportation planners, particularly in the United States, should ask themselves.

March 27, 2020 - Pedestrian Observations

COVID-19

Connecticut Town Rejects Drive-Through COVID-19 Testing Facility

The annals of local control, or, as some would say, NIMBYism, have a new chapter.

March 26, 2020 - The Darien Times

East Rutherford, New Jersey

Frontlines of the Social Distancing Effort Shifts to Parks and Open Space

Too many people have been seeking normalcy on parks and on trails. This isn’t a normal time.

March 25, 2020 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Capitol Hill

Updated: $2 Trillion Federal Stimulus Includes Billions for Transit, Housing

The economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has already hit public transit revenues hard, and the concerns of millions of renters around the country about how they'll afford to pay the rent are weighing heavily on the country.

March 25, 2020 - The New York Times

MLK Drive Philadelphia

MLK Jr. Drive in Philadelphia Closed to Motor Vehicles During Pandemic

The closure will give cyclists and pedestrians a safe roadway to use while maintaining social distancing.

March 25, 2020 - Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia

Shelter in Place

Shelter in Place: Working in a Time of Isolation

Need some work-at-home tips from a veteran? Hazel Borys has eight to consider.

March 25, 2020 - PlaceShakers

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.